Double would be over $45K. Clearly they are not even close to double, and add in the fact that a loaded GT now has features not available on a '98 at any money, and they are really not that different in price.

 

Hi Jeff, there's a guy in the UK looking to buy GT Premium. What's the difference between 401A and 402A Rapid Specs?


Many thanks
Paul

 

Ok...so I just concepted a 402A California Special...with nav, glass roof, HID's, Comfort pkg, 3.73 ltd slip and a Manual Trans...pretty much everything you could put on it if you wanted to have one "loaded" minus the Automatic trans. It was $42,415!!

 

Ouch; my '08 premium GT convertible, HID's, security, comfort group, auto, stickered at $36K, (cost me $31K after discounts+rebates). An equivalent '11 is about $41.5K sticker. Maybe it's that much better, but if I were shopping now, I don't think I would be willing to spend this much more. I think, as others have said, that they are moving this car away from it's target demographic.

 

You threw a bunch of options at it that were not available in '98. Equip it equivalently to the example of the "loaded" 98 (as I did when comparing to my '08) and it won't be nearly that much.

People, the '11 is too expensive, but at least compare apples to apples when toting up the options list.

 

Here's mine. Looks to cost $33,989.00 on the X-plan. It's a little high, but that's a lot of performance for the money.....

401A RAPID SPEC
P8C GT COUPE PREM
457 3.73 LTD SLIP
PQ RACE RED
Brick Red Interior
SECURITY PKG 43S
Rear Video Camera (Requires Decklid Spoiler) 77C
19" Premium Painted Luster Nickel Aluminum Wheels 65V
99F .5.0L 4V TI-VCT
44X .6-SPD MAN TRANS

 

401 is the Premium trim package (dark charcoal dash and different door panels/seat trim). 402A is the Cal Special package.

 

Base premium 400A, with 3.55 and polished wheels. $34,585.00

 

If I were a buyer now...I'd probably make two sacrifices; get a coupe instead of a convertible, and use the GM rebate card cash I have accumulated to get a Camaro instead of a Mustang.

 

So, I just "built" an '11 GT Premium Coupe with the exact same options that my '07 GT Premium Coupe has from the factory (automatic, comfort package). MSRP for my '07 was $30,300. MSRP for the '11 would be $35,285. That's just about $5K more for the same car. Yeah, I know: 5.0L, 6-speed auto, better chassis, better interior, side air bags, SYNC, AdvanceTrac, etc. Blah, blah, blah. $5K is a big jump, IMO, for 4 years; especially since my wages have not changed one bit during that time (like most Americans).

Then I built the '11 GT with the optional equipment that I'd 'want' and MSRP was $40K. Holy cow! We have a used 2007 GT500 coupe with 14K miles here on sale for just $34,950 that's starting to look like a bargain by comparison. White w/blue stripes - just like the GT500 banners from 2006.

 

Hey Brian, my car's difference is $9,500 from an '06 to the way I'd order it now!!

And I'm sales, so I work solely on commission and the age-old answer to the "raise" question is given everytime...sell more cars!!! I SOLD THE MOST HERE!! I'm Level 3, 16th in my region as of November!! I'd love a raise. Just a slight one, would be nice!!!

 

In the past while car shopping, I found that auto makers adjusted prices throughout the year, usually on a quarterly basis. At the time I was shopping for a 2002 Explorer for example, the quarterly increases were about $250. This would eventually lead to a price increase of about $1000 a year. So $5000 over 4 years is a lot of money but it isn't surprising based on trends.
BUT today I can buy a 2010 Explorer for only a couple grand more than I did back then. Whatever.

 

Here's a question:

Does anyone else think that in the Mustang's case that the competition from the Challenger and Camaro has caused the price to go UP? These cars debuted at much higher price points than the Mustang, but while offering more features/options/more power/better interior quality than the Mustang.

In order to compete for buyers who are willing to pay for these features, Ford had to significantly step up the standard features, interior quality, etc on the base Mustang. This of course culminated in a significant but costly power/transmission upgrade to compete performance wise with it's competitors.

While there's no doubt the Mustang offers good value for the new price, it may have priced itself away from people who just aren't looking for a 35k - 45k car and would have been fine with 350 hp, less standard features, etc but still paying 25-30k for it instead.

I see two main group of Mustang GT buyers:

1. Younger guys looking for a fun, affordable performance value but don't want to go the turbo-4 cylinder route.

2. Older guys looking for a car with history, nostalgia, performance, lots of standard features, lots of options and creature comforts, etc and are willing to shell out 35-45k as an alternative to the typical BMW, Lexus, Mercedes, etc.

Ford marketing at some point may have decided it has a better shot at Group #2, and left Group #1 (like me!) in the dust.. Yes there is a V6 Mustang option which I've ignored. I get a feeling many peformance minded buyers would either look at the V8 or go on to something else, regardless of the V6 performance.

Just something to think about...

 

Can you pass whatever you are smoking? 2010 interior blows away both the Camaro and Challenger.

 

The big jump in price happened BEFORE the Camaro. As mentioned there really isn't a major price jump from 2010 to 2011, it is more that the options have become standard.
But yeah I would agree that Ford has pushed the price point up to close to its max. right now.

 

After sitting in both and bringing an impartial witness, we both agree that the Mustang has the best interior in its class. The Camaro is cheap inside, and if you think otherwise, sit in them one after the other.

 

Hey bud, have you priced out an Evo X or an STI recently? These cars ARE NOT CHEAP!! A new Evo X will run $40K and an STI just under $40K with most equipment in them!!! And kids are buying them anyhow!!!

 

Really, you can't get anywhere near this kind of car with a v6 in it from anywhere.

I was looking at accord v6's cause i thought they looked nice, guess what? It costs the same as the mustang gt would, i mean price for price which one would you take!!! and that's for an accord!!

 

Thanks man

 

Sorry, should've mentioned that this was based on the 2005-2009 cars. Yes the Camaro wasn't out yet, but I'm sure Ford knew what the Camaro/Challenger had in store.